Anth.446 Ppt. Lecture-2 Egyptology And Ancient Egypt (By G. Mumford) UPDATED Dec. 2021.

ANTH. 446/646: FALL 2021
Explorers / Mummies / Hieroglyphs:
A thematic coverage of Ancient Egypt
Notes & images compiled by Gregory Mumford (2021)
Lecture 2(b): Egyptology.

Contents:
(1). The development of early Egyptology 4
(2). Early Egyptology Overview: Reading hieroglyphs … 20
(3). Excavation in Egypt: Early days of digging 45
(4). Excavation in Egypt: More recent (“modern”) developments … 55
(5). Early to Modern investigations of Ancient Egyptian Mummies … 102
(6). Early Explorers, Archaeologists, and other notable figures … 154
(7). Selected Sources: 167

Instructor tips for lectures, etc.:
(1). Attend class regularly (& listen) …
→ Many clarifications, tips, announcements,
reinforcement & reviews of materials/concepts.
(2). Take notes on lectures, etc. …
→ The act of writing down notes, even with
most course materials and instructions online,
serves as an invaluable aid to one focusing on
a class topic and retaining information better.
(3). Complete the required textbook
readings, and/or review the ppt.,
prior to the specific class day …
→ This will provide greater clarity and
comprehension of the material, and will enable
asking focused questions where something
may be less clear (in the textbook or lecture).
(4). Ask questions during the class if
you are confused/wish more data
→ The class is an ideal place to ask for more
clarity or further information not contained in
the textbook, ppt., and/or lecture (If nobody
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(5). Complete optional materials:
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https://howtostudyincollege.com/how-to-get-good-grades/note-taking-strategies/

THE DEVELOPMENT
OF EARLY
EGYPTOLOGY:
The emergence of interest in
& research into Ancient Egypt

Development of Egyptology:
• Study of Ancient Egypt = “Egyptology”
• It has progressed over 2000 years
from initial early-late Classical interest
(during the Hellenistic-Roman periods),
to later renewed interest beginning in
the Renaissance and culminating in
official study under Napoleon: 1798.
• The 1822 decipherment of Egyptian
hieroglyphs by Champollion marks a
major advancement in Egyptology.
• Subsequent improvements & more
translations of texts enabled scholars
to determine what the Anc. Egyptians
believed, achieved, and imagined.
• The decipherment revitalized a keen
interest in finding, uncovering, and
copying monuments, & excavating
(initially mostly treasure hunting; later
more controlled scientific research).

Development of Egyptology (cont.):
• Stone temples, tombs, and rock-cut
monuments survived better & more
prominently than mundane mud brick
housing and settlements, thereby
initiating an imbalance in Egyptology
towards monumental remains.
• Furthermore, southern Egypt has
yielded better preserved monuments,
encouraging relatively less cumulative
work in the Nile delta (north of Cairo).
• In general, it is only more recently that
Egyptologists have begun to redress
this imbalance:
a. Excavating more settlement sites
b. Excavating more delta sites and
sites in more peripheral zones.
c. Assessing more mundane and
non-inscribed artifacts of daily life.
d. Adopting more scientific means of
study: C14, paleopathology, etc.

Classical accounts:
• Over 70 Greek and Roman authors
are known from varying surviving
accounts dealing with Ancient Egypt.
• Some accounts dealt with excerpts
from Manetho’s relatively detailed/lost
history of Egypt from Dynasties 1-30.
• These classical works, and biblical
references, initially formed the main
source for the European (and later
New World) understanding of Egypt.
• In fact, several classical works still
form our main source for some later
periods of Egyptian history:
e.g., Demotic Chronicle.
• Although the decipherment of Anc.
Egyptian hieroglyphs introduced an
innumerable quantity of ancient texts,
the Classical texts still provide a
significant source used with caution.

Arab conquest of Egypt and
Medieval travelers:
• Although the last Egy. hieroglyphic
text dates to ca. 394 AD, Ancient Egy.
civilization had begun declining much
earlier in the Greco-Roman period.
• Hence, AD 640 conquest of Egypt
and the introduction of Islam simply
continued the process of decline,
but speeded up its loss via:
a. New religion,
b. New art and architecture,
c. Relatively little interest in pharaonic
Egypt (varying by individual scholars, etc.)
d. Reusing pharaonic monuments for
construction (e.g., Medieval Cairo)
(also begun by Coptic Christians)
e. Hunting for treasure (as before),
• Various early Arab scholars & others
suggested the pharaonic monuments
to be the works of magicians & giants.

Arab conquest of Egypt and
Medieval travelers:
• European pilgrims to the Holy Land,
including side trips to Egypt, viewed
the pyramids as “the granaries of
Joseph,” and made other links with
biblical accounts: Exodus & sojourn.
• The period of the Crusades resulted
in fewer pilgrims reaching Egypt.
• The more scientific musings of Islamic
scholars (e.g., Abd’ el-Latif: AD 1200,
explored the Sphinx & Great Pyramid),
remained inaccessible to Europeans
(until translated in the 1800s).
• Resumption of European pilgrims
witnessed a birth of travel guides: e.g.,
14th century (“Sir John Mandeville”).
• Other accounts included firsthand
pilgrims’ visits to Egypt and Sinai.

Renaissance antiquarians:
Historical background:
• The Ottoman empire’s invasion and
occupation of Egypt from 1517-1798
made Egypt a more open and safer
destination for European trade,
pilgrimage, treasure hunters, and
other travelers.
• This period coincided with the
Renaissance, a period of greater
freedom for scientific & other studies.
• A revitalized interest in Ancient Rome
also re-introduced more scholars to
Ancient Egypt, encouraging more
scholarly travelers to visit Egypt.
• The 15th century also marks the
‘rediscovery’ of two classical texts:
a. Horapollo’s Hieroglyphica (4th cent.
text arguing hieroglyphs = symbols)
b. Hermitic Corpus (purportedly
derived from Anc. Egyptian texts)

Travelers and writers:
• From AD 1400–1700, over 200 texts
are known dealing with first-hand
travelers’ visits to and observations
about Egypt.
• They range from purely speculative to
a few significant works.
E.g., George Sandy (1578-1644):
• AD 1610 trip to Egypt etc.
• Exploration of pyramids at Giza
• Used Classical accounts to interpret
what he saw (i.e., summarizing info.)
• Some illustrations of monuments: Giza
E.g., Pietro della Valle (1586-1652):
• AD 1614-1626 in East Mediterranean.
• Collecting antiques, including Coptic
texts (grammars & vocabularies).

E.g., John Greaves (1602-1652):
• English astronomer & mathematician.
• Conversant in Arabic & Persian
• He traveled to Egypt from 1638-1639,
conducting the first scientific
measurements of the Great Pyramid.
• He also explored the Great Pyramid,
and assessed its function critically,
using medieval Arabic sources and
earlier sources:
• He discounted earlier suggestions that
it was “a granary of Joseph,” etc.
• He issued a publication on his work:
Pyramidographia, or a Discourse
of the Pyramids in Aegypt (1646).

E.g., Father Claude Sicard (1677-1726):
• A professor at Lyons, who became a
Jesuit missionary in Syria.
• In 1707 he assumed the post of
Cairo’s Jesuit mission.
• For the remainder of his life he lived in
Egypt, during which he traveled to the
south and encountered many formerly
“unknown” ancient sites & monuments,
compiling a detailed work (unpublished,
but known via letters and a map):
a. Temple of Luxor
b. Temple of Karnak
c. Colossi of Memnon
d. Ramesseum
e. Valley of the Kings
f. Kom Ombo
g. Elephantine
h. Philae, etc. E.g., Edfu in AD 1798
E.g., Luxor Temple in AD 1798

E.g., Benoit de Maillet (1656-1738):
• French consul general posted in Egypt
from 1692-1708 (slight overlap with Sicard).
• Traveled throughout Egypt visiting
ancient sites & collecting antiques
(e.g., Coptic and Arabic texts).
• He argued first for exploring Egypt
scientifically
• His idea is ultimately adopted by
Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798.
E.g., Francoise Savary (1750-1788):
• French ambassador to Constantinople
• Interested in pharaonic Egypt and
visited Giza (textbook says 1605!)
• Probably in the late 1770s-1780s.
(need to check date of visit).

E.g., Rv. Richard Pococke (1704-1765):
• He traveled to Egypt from 1737-1738.
• He published a fairly detailed work on
his explorations in Egypt:
A Description of the East and some
other countries (1743-1745).
• He is the first to describe one of the
non-royal decorated tombs at Thebes.
• He furnishes a plan of the monuments
known to-date in the Valley of the
Kings (= contemporary with Norden’s
visit, but a few days later).

E.g., Lewis Nordern (1708-1742):
• A Danish naval architect who traveled
to Egypt in the late 1730s.
• He also visited the Valley of the Kings,
but completed a study on Egyptian
monuments for both the layperson &
scholars: Travels (1751).
• His well-illustrated work became
quite popular and was translated into
French and German:
i.e., it had a broader impact.

18th century travelers in general:
• The 1700s saw a dramatic increase in
travelers to, and published accounts
about, Ancient Egypt: i.e., monuments.
• These publications in-turn inspired
further interest, travels, and studies
on Ancient Egypt:
E.g., James Bruce (1730-1794):
• 1768: sailed from Egypt to Abyssinia
• Travels to discover the source of
the Nile, volumes 1-5 (1790).
Other works:
• many other publications emerged
with fine illustrations of Anc. Egyptian
monuments, maps, etc.
• Hence, scholars already had a growing
corpus of visual data, alongside earlier
Classical accounts, on Ancient Egypt.

Collectors:
Collectors (treasure hunters):
• The growing scholarly and general
interest in Egypt is paralleled by an
increasing demand for Egy. Antiquities
for European collections in the 1700s:
a. Kings of France,
b. Major British collectors, such as
Dr. Hans Sloane.
c. Numerous other small-major
collectors throughout Europe
• Some national collections began:
• E.g., 1756 Act of Parliament founded
the British Museum, which
obtained Sloane’s Egyptian
collection. Built a century later!
• Nations and private collectors sent
agents to Egypt to obtain more items.
• Unfortunately, many items = taken with
a total loss of archaeological context.

Erroneous theories:
Erroneous theories:
• Although people’s awareness had
been heightened greatly regarding
Ancient Egyptian monuments and
artifacts, the reliance upon Classical
and some biblical texts for historical
data generated many misconceptions.
• Formative Egyptology was unable to
advance much further until Egyptian
hieroglyphs and affiliated languages
could be deciphered.
• Hence, the Napoleonic expedition to
Egypt, the discovery of the Rosetta
Stone, and the initial decipherment of
Egyptian hieroglyphs form a major
turning point in Egyptology:
i.e., AD 1798–1822
→ The “birth” of Egyptology.

EARLY
EGYPTOLOGY:
Overview …
(reading hieroglyphs)

Early Egyptology:
• Napoleon Bonaparte’s 1798 military
campaign in Egypt brought 167
scholars and others to study the
fauna, flora, geography & monuments
of Egypt.
• During the campaign the Rosetta
Stone was found, but was later seized
by a British force (which defeated
France’s occupation of Egypt).
• In a race to decipher Egy. hieroglyphs,
Jean-Francoise Champollion was
ultimately successful in 1822.
• At the same time, foreign nations,
private collectors, and others were
competing to obtain the best and
most antiquities from Egypt in what
constituted mostly pure “treasure
hunting” …
• See Fagan, The Rape of the Nile.

Early Egyptology:
Recording the monuments:
• Champollion’s 1822 decipherment
of Egyptian hieroglyphs opened the
door to understanding Anc. Egyptian
texts, but created a new demand:
→ A need for more textual material
to translate and assess for historical
and other data, as well as to improve
the initial knowledge of the grammar
and vocabulary.
• The copying of inscribed ancient
Egyptian monuments now needed to
be very accurate to enable equally
correct study-data & translations.
• This need affected the development
of Egyptological epigraphy, which
increasingly adopted meticulous &
standardized ways of transcribing and
publishing hieroglyphic texts.

Early Egyptology:
• Epigraphic recording became
sufficiently standardized & accurate
by the early 1900s:
a. Accurate line drawings, simplifying
painted scenes into outline drawings
b. Some copies in colour (ideally) of
wall scenes and texts (many omitted
replication in colour; re-done later),
c. Paper-mache squeezes of texts &
scenes in relief/incised, with a
plaster cast (=relatively destructive),
d. Black and white photography
(preferred until more recently: i.e.,
good for sharper contrasts, etc.),
e. Some colour photography (past
problems with film preservation),
f. Often folio volumes for large temple
texts and scenes (to show details).

Early Egyptology:
Oriental Institute of the University of
Chicago epigraphic survey:
• Adapted several techniques into a
highly accurate, albeit a rather slow,
means of replicating wall scenes &
text (initiated by Howard Carter).
a. Photographing a large relief scene
from a temple wall (with scale piece),
b. Printing out the photographs (large)
and inking the texts over the images
c. Re-collating each section of text
and image from the temple with
the printed image and inking.
d. Removing/leeching out the
photographic image and leaving the
corrected line drawing intact.
e. Slow publication of very expensive
and large folio volumes. Now = pdfs

Early Egyptology:
Epigraphy:
• The combined need for careful copying
and Egyptological expertise in studying
each section of text and scene means
a time-consuming and costly task.
• Such meticulous work is essential,
esp. owing to the increased destruction
of monument wall faces via rising
salinity, exfoliation, etc. (Aswan dam).
• However, in many cases on-going
epigraphic work is being overtaken by
deteriorating wall scenes & texts.
• In other cases, some less carefully
published wall scenes and texts need
to be re-examined before it is too late.
• Epigraphic work is often conducted
separately, in conjunction with excav.,
or upon need after excavation.

Early Egyptology:
Major epigraphic expeditions:
Napoleonic Expedition to Egypt:
• The first extensive survey of Egypt
accompanied Napoleon’s army in
1798-1800, incorporating 167 scholars
charged with mapping and recording
ancient-modern culture, monuments,
irrigation systems, fauna, flora,
geography, etc.
• Despite the British defeat of the
French army in Egypt, the French
managed to publish their findings
in 19 volumes, from 1809 – 1828, in
Description de l’Egypte (now on-line).
(= originally a limited & costly edition).
• Many French scholars also published
their memoirs, esp. an artist Vivant
Denon (1747-1825), who wrote
Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute
Egypte (1802). Lower & Upper Egypt

Early Egyptology:
Champollion’s 1818-19 expedition:
• After having solved many problems in
beginning to decipher Egy. hieroglyphs,
Champollion and a student, Ippolito
Rosellini, led a large expedition to
Egypt: = 17 month duration.
• The team of scholars, artists, and
architects carried out a systematic
survey of inscribed monuments
with numerous copies of texts.
• Champollion completed his
decipherment in 1822 (using the
added textual material to aid him).
• Champollion’s brother completed the
4-volume publication (after his death)
in 1835-1847, Monuments de
l’Egypte et de la Nubie.
Champollion & Franco-Tuscian expedition
Luxor Temple in AD 1800

Early Egyptology:
Lepsius’ 1842-1845 expedition:
• Karl Lepsius (1810-1884) led a
Prussian expedition to Egypt,
exploring the Giza pyramids, Fayum,
Middle Egyptian tombs, and other
monuments as far south as Meroe.
• His team also explored the Sinai,
recording mining texts in the region.
• It represented the most scientific
of the three expeditions, & published
a 17 volume work from 1859–1913,
Denkmaler aus Aegypten und
Aethiopen (also on-line & in English).
• It provided a full recording of all known
major Anc. Egyptian wall scenes and
texts known in 1842-45.
• It remains a quite accurate rendition of
Anc. Egy. hieroglyphic texts & scenes.

Early Egyptology:
Contributions of these expeditions:
• The aforementioned three expeditions
generated sufficient epigraphic data
for studying Anc. Egyptian language,
history, religion, and art.
• Various monuments were also now
preserved by these surveys since a
few temples and monuments suffered
further deterioration & even destruction
• However, much data remained to be
retrieved from secure contexts:
a. Pottery containers;
b. Weapons and tools;
c. Objects from daily life;
d. etc.
New shift:
• Future expeditions began focusing on
detailed recording of individual sites.
Ptolemy VI’s temple
at Antaeopolis
(destroyed in 1821)

Early Egyptology:
Some individual copyists:
William John Banks (1786-1855):
• Visited Egypt, Nubia, and Syria from
1818 – 1819.
• He sketched (Ramesses II’s) rock-cut
temples at Abu Simbel.
• He transcribed texts and scenes from
these temples.
• He brought back an obelisk from
Philae to England (→ Kingston Lacy
house in the UK).
• i.e., At a much smaller scale than
the aforementioned expeditions, but
he = an early and excellent copyist.

Early Egyptology:
Sir John G. Wilkinson (1797-1875):
• A major early Egyptological copyist
• He studied Anc. Egyptian language
and initially traveled to Egypt in 1821,
including Nubia and the deserts.
• He funded his own work, but went to
sites not previously recorded:
e.g., Middle Egypt.
• He excavated at Thebes in 1824-1828
attempting to complete a thorough
survey: excavating and recording quite
accurately private tomb wall paintings
(many now deteriorated or destroyed).
• He finished a guide: The Topography
of Thebes and General Survey of
Egypt (1835): with old & new data.
• Manner and Customs of the Ancient
Egyptians (primary data; major work)
Example
of his
work
…

Early Egyptology:
Robert Hay (1799-1863):
• A relatively wealthy Scotsman who
focused on Egyptology.
• He visited Egypt between 1824-1828
and 1829-1834.
• His copious notes and detailed
plans and drawings fill 49 volumes,
which are now housed in the British
Museum (including a diary and letters).
• He employed an artist, Joseph Bonomi
(1796-1878), who also worked with
other Egyptologists and travelers. https://egyptophile.blogspot.com/2016/11/robert-hay-ses-precieux-dessins-plans.html
A 360° panorama from the hills of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, Egypt, illustrating
landmarks in the surrounding area such as the Ramesseum, the Colossi
of Memnon, the Temple of Seti I and the Shrine of Sheikh Abd el-Qurna

Early Egyptology:
James Burton (1788-1862):
• British Egyptologist who accompanied
Sir John Wilkinson to Egypt in 1824.
• He also traveled to Egypt with Edward
Lane in 1825.
• He compiled very accurate drawings
& plans of Anc. Egyptian monuments
(now retained in the British Museum).
Edward W. Lane (1801-1876):
• Lane carried out several trips to Egypt,
compiling notes and sketches.
• He published a study of modern
Egyptians during the 19th century AD:
Manner and Customs of the Modern
Egyptians (1836).

Early Egyptology:
Other copyists:
Johann L. Borchardt (1784-1817):
• 1813 trip and report about Abu Simbel.
Frederic Caillaud (1787-1869):
• 1821 trip to Meroe
A.C.T.E.Prisse d’Avennes (1807-1879):
• Attempted to copy many Egyptian
monuments by himself in mid-1800s.
Johannes Dumichen (1833-1894):
• Began trying to copy complete Anc.
Egyptian monuments in mid-1800s.
Many others:
• Numerous other early Egyptologists
and explorers are known from the
1800s: e.g., Major MacDonald, who
lived at Wadi Maghara in South Sinai
in the mid-1800s, both excavating &
making squeezes at pharaonic sites.

Early Egyptology:
Archaeological & epigraphic surveys:
• The later 1800s attempted to build on
the preceding monument surveys by
teams and individuals.
EEF Archaeological Survey of Egypt:
• The (British) Egypt Exploration Fund
(i.e., EEF, later named …Society EES)
attempted to initiate a comprehensive
“Archaeological Survey of Egypt” to
record and preserve ALL Anc. Egy.
sites, including tombs & temples
(directed by F.L. Griffith, 1862-1934).
→ IT FAILED TO ACHIEVE THIS.
• The ASE began with 1891+ survey of
Middle Egypt, but reduced its goals to
a detailed study of the MK tombs at
Beni Hasan (published 1893-1894).
• The EEF survey employed excellent
artists: e.g., Howard Carter & Norman
and Nina de Garis Davies.

Early Egyptology:
Archaeological & epigraphic surveys
EEF-ASE & MMA Theban Tombs:
Norman & Nina de Garis Davies:
• Norman de Garis Davies (1865-1941)
• Nina de Garis Davies (1881-1965)
• Norman initially worked in Middle Egy.
and then acted as a surveyor for ASE
in Saqqara, Deir el-Gabrawi, Amarna
& Thebes (10 vols. of ASE memoirs).
• Nina served as an artist at Beni Hasan,
Amarna, Thebes, etc.
• This husband-wife team also worked
for the MMA in Thebes for 30 years,
contributing to volumes in The
Theban Tomb Series 1915-1933.
• Nina used innovative art techniques:
egg tempera vs. watercolours.
She published many drawings in
1936, Ancient Egyptian Paintings.

Early Egyptology:
EEF Archaeological Survey of Egypt:
Aylward M. Blackman (1883-1956):
• The next director of the ASE.
• Recording OK tombs at Meir.
OK = Old Kingdom
• He worked at Abydos in 1925-1926
and resumed work after World War II.
• Hence, the EEF / EES Archaeological
Survey of Egypt has realized part of
its original goal, by this and many
other British projects, working in
Egypt and recording and publishing
diverse sites in increasing detail.

Early Egyptology:
Early surveys of standing temples:
• Various early surveys focused on
recording standing & partly-mostly
visible Anc. Egyptian temples.
• Initially, David Roberts (1796-1864),
and others, drew fairly accurate
drawings and made watercolour
paintings of numerous temples:
i.e., especially from 1838–1839.
• His lithographs appeared in …
• E.g., D. Roberts, Egypt and Nubia,
3 volumes (1846-1849).
• E.g., D. Roberts, The Holy Land,
Syria, Egypt and Nubia (1842-
1849).

Early Egyptology:
Later surveys of standing temples:
• Whilst Ancient Egyptian temples were
cleared of “later debris,” epigraphers
could begin copying texts and scenes.
Edfu temple of Horus:
• 1892 epigraphy by Maxence de
Rochemonteix (1849-1891).
• 1892-1934 epigraphy by Emile
Chassinat (1868-1948).
• The completed publication covered 14
volumes: Le Temple d’Edfou (1892-
1934).
Other temple epigraphic surveys:
• Kom Ombo (Ptolemaic-Roman)
• Denderah (Ptolemaic-Roman)
• Esna (Ptolemaic-Roman)
• etc.

Early Egyptology:
Surveys of standing Egy. temples:
• Other major temple surveys include:
Abydos Sety I temple survey:
• An early Dyn.19 temple of Sety I with
some unique features and scenes
including a lengthy rendition of the
“Daily Temple Ritual.”
• ASE began excavation work here in
1925-1926, expanding the survey to
include recording the temples of
Sety I and Ramesses II using
photography.
• A. M. Calverley (1888-1959[?]) and
later Myrtle Broome (1888-1978) began
reproducing the temple texts & scenes
via colour paintings in 1928 until 1950.
• EES-OI publication: The Temple of
King Sethos I at Abydos. 4 volumes.

Early Egyptology:
Medinet Habu temple survey:
• James Henry Breasted at the Oriental
Institute at the University of Chicago
got funds from J.D. Rockefeller Jr.:
• He founded a major Egyptological
Institute (the Oriental Institute) using
Rockefeller’s funds from 1919-1924.
• He founded Chicago House in Luxor
in 1924.
• This base facilitated the OI’s epigraphy
in the temples at Medinet Habu,
which continues to this day (2021+).
• Directors include:
a. H. H. Nelson (1878-1954)
b. U. Holscher (1878-1963)
• The OI’s on-going publications are
some of the finest ever on a global
scale(!) i.e., large folio volumes.

Early Egyptology:
Ancient Egyptian tomb surveys:
• Around 409 Theban tombs were
located on the West Bank by …
Alan H. Gardiner (1879-1963)
Arthur Wiegall (1880-1934)
• Many were published variously in part
in 1913, A Topographical Catalogue
of the Private Tombs of Thebes.
• F. L. Griffith initiated a far more
detailed topographic bibliography of
Egyptian inscribed monuments and
artifacts, including Theban tombs.
• This massive project began in 1924,
being edited by Rosalind Moss,
Bertha Porter, and later others→today
The Topographical Bibliography of
Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts,
Reliefs and Paintings, vols.1-8+.
1970s+ (2nd edition)

B. Porter & L. B. Moss, and J. Malek et. al.,
1924+ - 2000s, Topographical Bibliography
of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic
Texts, Statues, Reliefs and
Paintings, Vols. I-VIII … including
separate parts/fascicles …
Sterne Library: PJ1501 .P67 1960a
(full set) PJ1521 .P85 1978
2012

Early Egyptology:
Importance of epigraphy:
Epigraphy (continued).
• Epigraphy forms a vital component of
most pharaonic sites within Egypt.
• In emergency situations where a
structure is facing rapid deterioration,
multiple institutions often pool their
resources to mount a rescue operation
E.g., Nubian Rescue Campaign:
• The planned heightening of the Aswan
Dam → Aswan High Dam threatened
to flood many major sites, temples,
and tombs in northern Sudan (Nubia).
• A call for aid in rescuing Nubia’s
monuments witnessed dozens of
nations contributing aid & projects.
• E.g., EES & Brown University project
worked at various sites from
1960-1964.
First dam at Aswan (completed 1902)
Flood waters at Philae after first dam
1899-1902 First (Low / Old) Dam

EXCAVATION IN
EGYPT:
Early days of “digging”:
Approx. 1500s – 1900 AD

Excavation in Egypt:
• In the late 1600s-1700s, Egyptology
became a desirable hobby pursued
by the elite in Europe.
• A corresponding growing wish for
Egyptian antiquities fueled further
excavation and plundering within
Egypt: especially in the 1700s.
• The 1822 decipherment of hieroglyphs
increased the demand for inscribed
monuments, …
both for scholarly research,
and for private-state collections.
• However, the corresponding growth
in professional Egyptological research
began …
(a). to impose increasing control on
wanton “treasure hunting,”
(b). To initiate increasingly more
scientific approaches to recording.

Early excavations:
• The earliest “excavators” of Ancient
Egyptian antiquities actually represent
tomb robbers, who plundered Egyptian
monuments from the pharaonic era
through to modern times.
• In early 15th century AD Egypt,
treasure hunting had reached such
proportions that it was categorized
as a taxable Endeavour
(see Ibn Khaldun’s accounts).
• During the Renaissance, states and
private collectors hired agents and
diggers to obtain pharaonic treasures:
a. Papyrus documents,
b. Mummies,
c. Coffins,
d. Jewellery,
e. Inscribed blocks (temples-tombs)
f. Other usually rel. portable items
Jean de Thevenot
(1633 – 1667 AD)
Examining a mummy

Early excavations:
Early justifications for looting:
• Despite some protests against such
wholesale plundering, collectors
justified their techniques by arguing …
(a). The public in Europe could better
appreciate Egyptian civilization via
local-regional displays of findings.
(b). Public collections rescued artifacts
from other looters, destruction, etc.
(c). The Ancient Egyptians had also
mined their own buildings & items
for reuse in antiquity.
(d). Egypt currently lacked a national
museum and thereby foreign
collections aided in preserving
Anc. Egyptian antiquities.
• Such excuses are still used variously
across the globe …

Early excavations:
Early attempts to stop looting:
• Muhammad ‘Ali inherited the rule of
Egypt in 1805 and attempted to
modernize Egypt (still nominally part
of the Ottoman empire).
• Champollion later cautioned him
about the rampant looting of Egypt’s
heritage: i.e., brought to his attention
• 1835: M. ‘Ali issued a decree trying
to halt the looting and exportation of
Egyptian antiquities and recognized
that Egypt needed a Nat. museum.
• The decree mostly failed to stop
the antiquities trade, but represented
an early step in the right direction.
i.e., the government had recognized
its obligations towards preserving
Ancient Egypt’s monuments, etc.
1863+ Bulaq Museum
Mohammed Ali
(founder of modern Egypt)

Some pioneering personalities:
Founding significant collections:
• Early explorers and treasure hunters
contain many lively individuals, some
of whose activities are preserved via
diaries, memoirs, and more recent
treatments.
• Many of them helped found significant
Egyptological collections that grace
major museums today:
E.g., Berlin Museum (Passalacqua)
E.g., British Museum (Salt; Belzoni)
E.g., Louvre (Drovetti)
• The fierce competition between
Belzoni and Drovetti has become
legendary, and was permitted by an
Egyptian ruler eager to placate both
Britain and France: complex issues …

Belzoni’s controversial role:
• Giovanni Belzoni (1778-1823) was
hired by Britain’s consul-general
(Henry Salt) to obtain Egy. Antiquities
for what would ultimately form a
significant part of the British Museum’s
Egyptian collections.
• He managed to retrieve a colossal
statue of Ramesses II from Thebes
(the Ramesseum: R.II mortuary temple).
• He excavated in the temple of Mut
(beside Karnak Temple in Luxor).
• He found six royal tombs within the
Valley of the Kings: esp. Sety I.
• He explored Abu Simbel (N. Nubia)
• He entered Khafre’s pyramid at Giza

Belzoni’s controversial role (cont.):
• Belzoni sold various collections to
(a). Sir John Soane: collection-1
Sety I’s alabaster sarcophagus.
(b). King of France: collection-2
(sold between 1819-1824).
(c). British Museum: collection-3
(many pieces bought in 1835).
• Belzoni may not have excavated in
a meticulous fashion like later
investigators, but he appears to have
appreciated the materials he found
and should be judged within the
context of his period.
• Despite various criticisms, he remains
a sympathetic character with a lively
account of his adventures & ingenuity.
See documentary-drama on Belzoni …
BBC Rediscovery of Ancient Egypt

A new national antiquities service:
Egy. National Museum & Ant. Service:
• Auguste Mariette (1821-1881) is
recognized as one of the earliest
Egyptologists to impose a more
scientific approach to excavating in
Egypt (i.e., in 1850+).
• He recognized that Egypt’s heritage
was being rapidly lost, and managed
to convince Egypt’s ruler, Sa‘id Pasha,
to initiate a national antiquities service
and a national museum (1863+).
• Mariette led both institutions, with the
early museum being located at Boulaq
(prior to today’s 1902 Cairo Museum).
• As director, Mariette was able to begin
to thwart looting throughout Egypt,
and impose scientific standards over
Egyptological projects in Egypt.

A new approach:
Gaston Maspero:
• Gaston Maspero (1846-1916): 1881
he succeeded Mariette as the director
of the National Museum & Ant. Service.
• He oversaw the publication of 50
vols. of the Cairo Museum Catalogue.
• He relaxed some regulations enabling
foreign US and European museums
to obtain antiquities via legal excav.
• Egyptologists had already determined
the main trends in Anc. Egyptian
history (from various monuments),
and were beginning to refine excav.
techniques.
• He encouraged archaeological
investigations into settlements and
aspects of daily life (still needed[!]).
Bulaq Museum 1863+

EXCAVATION IN
EGYPT:
More recent (“modern”)
developments in
approaches to excavating
and selected projects ...

Excavation developments:
• Modern Egyptian archaeology has
become increasingly more rigorous
in its excavation and post-excavation
techniques.
• Archaeological teams are composed
of multiple specialists, including:
- Egyptologists (including as directors)
- Epigraphers (usually Egyptologists)
- Artists
- Architects
- Ceramicists
- Photographers
- Geologists
- Metallurgists
- Conservators
- Osteologists (i.e., human & animals)
- Excavators, etc.
• Both projects and team-members are
increasingly vetted by archaeological
institutions (e.g., ARCE) & SCA (MOA).
• Ensuring high quality, scientific work
but also enabling training/experience
for young Egyptologists & others …

Some early pioneers:
• All professional archaeologists owe
their training to prior specialists in
their and related fields, who in-turn
received training from other earlier
specialists: Generations of training …
• Although Egyptian archaeology did
develop slowly over the last two
centuries, pivotal figures do emerge
who advanced the discipline greatly:
• E.g., W. M. F. Petrie
“Father of Archaeology”
• E.g., George A. Reisner
• E.g., Other persons and projects …
See sources at end of the lecture

W. M. F. Petrie (1853-1942):
• Generally acknowledged as the
“Father of Archaeology.”
• A. H. Rhind had already formulated
the objectives for scientific Egyptology,
but Petrie actually initiated various new
rigorous methods & practices …
• He considered all items to be of equal
importance, collecting, assessing, and
publishing numerous types of data in
innovative ways: including statistics.
• He recognized the significance of
context and focused on settlements
and materials that had been mostly
neglected by earlier projects.
• He directed excavations at numerous
sites throughout Egypt (& Palestine),
overseeing workers directly, & training
the next generation of archaeologists.

W. M. F. Petrie (1853-1942):
• One of his major contributions included
discovering the Predynastic culture at
Naqada, for which he developed
sequence dating, enabling the mostly
correct placement of material culture
in chronological order of appearance.
• He also re-excavated important sites
that had received inadequate attention,
(Abydos) publishing data that had been
otherwise neglected: e.g., pottery.
Selected sites examined by Petrie:
• Sinai: W. Maghara & Serabit el-Khadim
Tell Abu Salima.
• Delta: Tanis, Nebesheh, etc.
• N. Egypt: Giza, Gurob, Hawara, etc.
• M. Egypt: Amarna, Abydos, Naqada,
• S. Egypt: Thebes, etc.
• Palestine: Tell el-Hesi, Tell el-Ajjul, etc.
• (Directed many students at these sites)
Sequence dating

George A. Reisner (1867-1942):
• Reisner entered the field slightly later
than Petrie, but augmented his
techniques, conducting high quality
excavation, recording and publication.
• He excavated cemeteries at Naga
ed-Der in 1901, publishing highly
detailed data, plans, analysis, etc.
• He directed the Archaeological Survey
of Nubia: 1907-1908 (salvage excav.
of sites being lost to the first Aswan
Dam built in 1899-1902).
• Reisner’s excavations, recording, and
publications superceded Petrie’s in
their approach and detail.
• Var. students of Petrie (e.g., Starkey)
also began publishing very high quality
work: e.g., Lachish (Palestine).

Theban necropolis explorations:
• Beginning in the early 1900s,
Egyptologists began excavating the
hundreds of tombs in the Theban
necropolis –partly encouraged by the
discovery of caches of royal mummies.
• Theodore M. Davis hired several
archaeologists to work under his
direction in the Valley of the Kings
from 1903-1912: e.g.,
- KV.55 (Smenkhkare vs. Akhenaten)
- Tomb of Yuya & Tuya
• Howard Carter, who was employed
by Lord Carnarvon, explored the Valley
of the Kings, finding the virtually intact
tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.
The tomb yielded over 3000 items,
and took years to record meticulously,
conserve, pack, and remove to Cairo.

Theban necropolis explorations:
• Herbert E. Winlock conducted higher
quality work at Deir el-Bahri, at:
a. Mortuary temple of Montuhotep II
(including tombs of princesses)
b. Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut
c. Other work on private tombs here
• French archaeologists (IFAO)
discovered and have excavated the
village & cemetery of Deir el-Medineh
from 1922 to the present.
• Site’s isolated location in dry desert
hills ensured excellent preservation:
a. Major cache of 1000s of documents
b. Best excavated & known community
c. Special tomb-workers of the king
during New Kingdom (Dyns.18-20).

Treasure in the north:
• The delta sites are located in a zone
with a higher water table, no nearby
stone sources, and hence much less
preservation or impressive monuments
(more recycling of stone in the delta).
• Hence, much less investigation has
occurred within the delta.
• San el-Hagar (Tanis) is one of several
important exceptions:
a. Initial work by Mariette & Petrie,
b. Pierre Montet (1885-1966) worked
at Tanis in the 1930s-1940s.
c. Montet found Dyns.21-22 royal
tombs here with substantially intact
burials in 1939-1940: jewellery, etc.
• French archaeologists have continued
working at Tanis until today; MoA now

Rescuing the monuments of Nubia:
Impact of the dams:
• Increasing population growth and the
need to regulate & disperse water
to improve irrigation & crop production
led to the planning & building of the
first Aswan dam between 1899-1902,
and a heightening of this dam from
1960-1965 (hydroelectricity).
• The Egyptian & Sudanese agreement
to build/enlarge the Aswan Dam also
initiated major salvage archaeology
campaigns to investigate & salvage
archaeological sites to be flooded by
both phases.
• The first dam initiated the 1907-1908
Archaeological Survey of Nubia.
• The second/High Aswan dam initiated
a major international rescue campaign
since the dam would flood a 312 mile
long x 12-16 miles wide area: L. Nasser

Impact of the dams:
• Egypt and UNESCO promoted a
global campaign in the 1950s,asking
all nations to aid in rescuing the
heritage of Egypt and Sudan prior to
the dam’s completion in 1965.
• Many nations sent funds, materials,
diverse specialists, and other aid to
survey, excavate, and remove various
endangered sites & monuments from
the intended flood zone:
- Archaeologists
- Epigraphers
- Architects
- Engineers
- Etc.
• New approaches were applied to map
or plan sites more rapidly, using aerial
photography, epigraphy and also
photogrammetry (contour-mapping).
Amada temple arriving at new site

Salvaging the monuments:
• The many rock-cut and stone-built
temples and shrines south of Aswan
were salvaged variously:
a. Some temples were dismantled and
placed on higher ground nearby:
E.g., Philae; Kalabsha; Beit el-Wali;
the Kiosk of Kertassi.
b. Other structures were dismantled &
placed in a park in Khartoum.
c. Nations that had provided significant
financial and other aid received some
temples for reassembling & display
in Europe and the United States.
- Major monuments like Abu Simbel &
Philae were relocated as closely as
possible to their original setting and
received an accurate reconstruction
of their original setting / backdrop.
Dabod temple moved to Madrid

The temples of Philae:
• The Late Period to Ptolemaic-Roman
temples at Philae lay on an island
called Pi-lak by Anc. Egyptians,
being identified (locally) with the place
where all life came into being.
• The 1899-1902 Aswan Dam had
enabled the flood waters to submerge
much of the temples for 9 months/year
• In contrast, the High Dam would have
raised water levels sufficiently high to
flood the temples year round, and
thus destroying them in the long run.
• After much debate over how to rescue
Philae, its temples were dismantled
and reassembled on the adjacent,
higher island of Agilkia (which was
reconfigured to resemble the original
island and setting).
i.e., The needs of Modern Egypt
versus efforts to rescue past Egypt:
A tricky, time-consuming,
& costly balance

The temples of Philae:
• The Late Period to Ptolemaic-Roman
temples at Philae lay on an island
called Pi-lak by Anc. Egyptians,
being identified (locally) with the place
where all life came into being.
• The 1899-1902 Aswan Dam had
enabled the flood waters to submerge
much of the temples for 9 months/year
• In contrast, the High Dam would have
raised water levels sufficiently high to
flood the temples year round, and
thus destroying them in the long run.
• After much debate over how to rescue
Philae, its temples were dismantled
and reassembled on the adjacent,
higher island of Agilkia (which was
reconfigured to resemble the original
island and setting).

The temples of Abu Simbel:
• The Nubian Rescue campaign faced
its greatest challenge in moving the
rock-cut temples of Ramesses II and
his queen Nefertari (at Abu Simbel).
• These temples were dedicated to
(a). Deified Ramesses II & the deities
Ptah, Amun-Re, & Re-Harakhte;
(b). Deified Nefertari and Hathor.
• The temples held both religious and
military scenes within the rock-cut
chambers and corridors.
• Burckhardt found Ramesses II’s
sand-engulfed temple at Abu Simbel
in 1813, but it was not cleared of sand
until Belzoni’s visit several years later.
• Belzoni managed to engage local
workers to clear the sand from the
façade, which rose 65 feet in height.

The temples of Abu Simbel:
• Dismantling the colossal rock-cut
temple was exceedingly complex,
involving a full range of massive
equipment to saw through the cliff,
raise the blocks 210 feet above the
original site, hold blocks in storage,
prepare a new setting, & reassemble
the temples into an identical layout.
• This operation, conducted by Sweden,
shifted the temples during 1964-1968.
• Since Lake Nasser had already begun
to fill, a coffer dam was installed
around the original temples whilst the
sawn rock-cut portions were removed
and raised to their new location.
• The new location had to accommodate
the astronomical alignment of the inner
sanctuary with the sun’s rays 2x/year.
Philae:
Coffer
dam

Some major current excavations:
Egypt in general.
• Many institutions & nations across
the world support excavations and
other projects in Egypt each year.
• The SCA recently noted about 500
foreign teams work in Egypt ea. year.
• SCA/MoA also has 100s of projects
operating throughout Egypt as well.
• Hence, each year, about 1000+/-
projects conduct excavations & other
work throughout Egypt, with numerous
reports, articles, bulletins, books, and
on-line communications being issued
every year –a staggering amount
sufficient to overwhelm most library
budgets and shelving space.
• In addition, projects span diverse foci,
from Prehistory to modern times and
from tombs to settlement & other sites.

Lower Egypt: Alexandria.
• 1960s: Kamal Abu el-Sadah found
traces of the Ptolemaic royal city of
Alexandria 8 feet below the surface
of the E. Harbour of modern Alexandria.
• 1968: UNESCO investigated the
submerged remains of Alexandria.
• 1975: Additional investigations.
• Early 1990s: Plans to build a concrete
storm-breakwater around Fort Qait Bey
initiated salvage operations within the
endangered submerged Ptolemaic area
→ 1992 remote sensing mapping of
archaeological features on seabed.
→ J. Y. Empreur 1994+ project.
• Carried out a full topographic survey
• Raised selected architectural & other
pieces.

Finds:
• 1000s of inscribed-plain blocks,
columns, sphinxes, obelisks from
Dyns.12-26 Heliopolis, etc. (used to
decorate the Ptolemaic city).
• Blocks from the famous lighthouse of
Pharos (originally 400 feet high).
• Huge statues, amphorae, paving slabs,
remnants of reservoirs, and quays.
Reconstructing city layout:
• Revised notions about city plan & size.
• Cleopatra VII’s palace complex
apparently = 1/3 of the city with ornate
painted building with terraced gardens.
• Two main streets flanked by temples,
palaces, colonnades, fountains, etc.
• Search for Anthony & Cleopatra’s tomb

Other discoveries:
• Excavation and construction within
modern Alexandria have uncovered
var. portions of Ptol.-Roman levels:
Amphitheatre, lecture halls, catacombs
• 1997 discovery of a huge catacomb
complex during road construction:
- 1000s of bodies (skeletal remains),
including both mummification and
cremation burials (some adoption of
Egyptian customs);
- many burial goods;
- various inscriptions;
- Etc.
• Much on-going assessment of diverse
aspects of life in Ptolemaic-Roman
Alexandria: health, diet, etc.

Lower Egypt: Delta survey.
• 1997: The EES initiated a survey of
the delta to assess & map the current
status of var. known archaeological
sites (found in the 1800s-1900s):
i.e., Endangerment from agricultural
and urban expansion, etc.
• Several 100 have already been visited
and assessed by the survey,
• Published on-line and in Journal of
Egyptian Archaeology (JEA).
• Other surveys:
- SCA-EAIS survey & risk assessment
of sites in delta & elsewhere in Egypt
- S. Parcak survey of East Delta (and
elsewhere) using satellite remote
sensing work: on-going.
- Other scholars implementing surveys
…

Lower Egypt: Sais.
• 1997+: EES initiated an intensive
survey of Sais (Sa el-Hagar) in the
West Delta.
• This site formed a major provincial
capital during its history, and was the
capital of the Dyn.26 Saite kingdom.
• Early travelers (e.g., Herodotus) and
others as late as the 19th cent. AD
reported substantial structures:
e.g., temples, statuary & royal tombs.
• Recent investigation applied coring,
surface remote sensing, excavation,
and surface mapping & observations,
revealing the largest temple enclosure
know in Ancient Egypt.
• Investigations here have also shown
that the site was inhabited during the
Predynastic period (3500 BC) & later.

Lower Egypt: Tell el-Dab‘a.
• Beginning in 1966, Manfred Bietak has
led an Austrian excavation at the site
of Tell el-Dab‘a in the Northeast Delta.
• The diverse findings have illuminated
our knowledge of the Middle Kingdom
through early Dyn.18:
• The material culture assemblage
revealed a significant & increasing
presence of Asiatics from Syria-Pal.,
beginning in the Middle Kingdom
and doubling in the 2nd Intermediate
Period (“Hyksos Period”).
• The balance of the evidence from
Tell el-Dab‘a, including a palace, some
royal hieroglyphic texts, the greatest
concentration of Canaanite culture,
and later accounts from the site, all
point to it being the Hyksos city Avaris

Middle Kingdom:
• Some Asiatic/Canaanite inhabitants
and associated barracks (for labour).
Dynasty 13:
• Increased Asiatic/Canaanite influence,
including pottery, copper working
areas: e.g., typical Canaanite items.
• Especially North Syrian derivation.
• A large palace, palace gardens and
vineyards, with a cylinder seal showing
an Asiatic deity; Baal-Zaphon.
• A palace cemetery with Canaanite-
style burials (sheep/goats & donkeys),
Canaanite weaponry, Canaanite-like
morphology in male skeletal remains,
and a scarab seal naming an “Asiatic”
treasurer.
v

Second Intermediate Period:
• Syrian-style courtyard housing,
• Housing with intramural burials below
a chamber within various houses.
• A dramatic increase in Canaanite-style
pottery to 40% (from 20%) in Dyn.14+
• A sacred/cultic areas with Egyptian
and Canaanite-style temples.
• A later pit containing a fragmented
colossal statue of an Asiatic-style
ruler (yellow skin; throwstick; hairstyle).
• Architectural pieces with hieroglyphic
texts naming known Hyksos rulers,
using the foreign title “Ruler of
Foreign lands.”
• Traces of a citadel (from Hyksos
period, and later Dyn. 18).

Late SIP to Early Dynasty 18:
• More recent work by Bietak has
resulted in a re-assessment of some
Minoan frescoes at Tell el-Dab‘a as
dating actually to early Dyn.18
**(contra David [2002] Handbook …).
• Early Dyn.18 construction of a new
citadel and palace complex.
• Minoan frescoes found in rubbish pits:
E.g., Bull leaping scenes, Minoan
landscapes, Minoan-style figures, etc.
(painted in Minoan-style & techniques)
• Minoan elite pottery: Kamares ware
• Theories for diplomatic marriage
between a “Hyksos” ruler & Minoans
should be revised now --if Minoan
frescoes date to early Dyn.18.

Lower Egypt: The Giza Plateau.
• General through more scientific work
has long been conducted at the Giza
plateau, initially focusing on the
pyramids, with a shift to surrounding
features: tombs, temples, settlements.
Great Pyramid complex (Khufu):
• Much work has been conducted on
exploring & planning Khufu’s pyramid,
examining the “air shafts” by robot,
his queens’ pyramids, boat burials,
a subsidiary satellite pyramid, his
mother’s adjacent tomb (Hetepheres),
tracing the causeway & valley temple,
and locating parts of his palace and
settlement in the flood plain below
modern Nazlet es-Samman.
• Further discoveries continue to be
made here using diverse techniques.

Great Sphinx (of Khafre):
• The Great Sphinx has inspired many
visitors through the Ages, from King
Thutmose IV (Dyn.18) to many later
rulers and periods until today:
• More recent sand clearing projects
took place in 1925 and 1935-1936.
• Increasing problems in air pollution,
rising water tables, and increased
salinity culminated in a 1980 decision
to initiate an emergency study and
restoration program.
• This failed and the sphinx is now being
refaced with new limestone blocks.
• More popular theorists suggest the
sphinx “predates” the Old Kingdom,
but specialists concur that it does
not predate this period.

Giza necropolis (mostly mastabas):
• In the early 1900s, multiple nations
and institutions were granted portions
of the Giza mastaba necropolis to
excavate, record, and publish:
Egyptian, U.S., Germany, etc.
• The 100s of mastaba superstructures
have interior chambers, texts, scenes,
subterranean tomb chambers, and
various artifacts, requiring detailed
recording and publication: i.e., often
a single volume per mastaba tomb.
• The quality of work has varied, with
some earlier publications being rather
inadequate, whilst other publications
are still on-going and are of very high
quality: e.g., Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston.

Giza workmen’s necropolis:
• The EAO/SCA has discovered an Old
Kingdom cemetery for the pyramid
workforce and their overseers, to the
south of Menkaure’s pyramid complex.
• The upper terrace held the higher
ranking tombs for overseers, artists,
master builders, and their families.
• The lower terrace yielded the lower
ranking tombs and graves for simple
labourers and their families.
• The skeletal materials have also
produced invaluable data on the
health, diet, diseases, injuries, etc.
experienced by the workforce.

Giza workmen’s settlements:
• Several settlements have been
located at & beside the Giza Plateau:
• Some housing & workshops near
Menkaure’s pyramid (east of it).
• A village for the mortuary priesthood
of Menkaure within the Valley Temple.
• A town associated with the mortuary
cult of Queen Khentkawes at Giza.
• A large settlement to the south of the
pyramid field, with administrative
buildings, bakeries, housing, etc.
• A large settlement in the flood plain to
the east of Giza, below Nazlet es-
Samman.
• Other settlements? may be found in
future in the plain below modern Giza.

Other pyramids: Saqqara-Memphis.
• The city of Memphis has long formed
one of the most important capital cities
in Egypt over the past 5000 years,
shifting its location somewhat as the
Nile River has shifted its course.
• The site of Saqqara forms the main
western cemetery for anc. Memphis,
yielding numerous pyramids, mastaba
tombs, temples, catacombs, and other
remains (studied by many persons).
• 1930s: W. B. Emery investigated
northern Saqqara, excavating the
Dyns.1-2 elite tombs (for the EES).
• 1964+: Emery searched for the tomb
Imhotep (builder of Djoser’s pyramid),
but instead found a massive sacred
animal necropolis, temples, papyri,
artifacts, etc. (still being published).

Other pyramids: Saqqara-Memphis.
• 1975-present: EES & Rijksmuseum
van Oudheden (Leiden), and other
partnerships, re-investigated Lepsius’
mid-1800s survey region at Saqqara,
focusing on major tombs found there:
e.g., Horemheb (as a general [Tut]).
e.g., Maya (overseer of treasury [Tut])
e.g., Tia and Tia (temp. Ramesses II)
• 1992: EES has continued investigating
the sacred animal necropolis, initiating
more scientific investigations.
• Recently EES: mapping the Saqqara
necropolis more thoroughly.
• EES also excavating nearby Memphis
city, temple, etc.
• Many other nations/teams at Saqqara
French, Egyptian, Polish, etc.

Other pyramids: Abusir.
• Dynasty 5’s rulers placed most of their
pyramids at Abusir (north of Saqqara),
but built smaller & cheaper structures.
• A series of Dyn.5 solar temples were
built nearby to the north at Abu Ghurab
• These structures have been
investigated variously in the 1800s-
1900s, by German, Czech, Egyptian,
and other nations/projects.
• 1970s-present: The Czech Institute of
Egyptology at Charles University in
Prague, has been directing intensive
work in the Abusir necropolis, finding
new pyramids, tombs, temples, etc.
E.g., Pyramid of Qn. Khentkawes II
E.g., Unfinished pyr. of Raneferef
E.g., Mastaba of Ptahshepses
E.g., Old Kingdom papyrus archive
E.g., Late Period tombs

Other pyramids: Dahshur.
• Old & Middle Kingdom pyramids,
tombs, and other remains.
• Dahshur = explored variously in the
1800s:
E.g., Col. R. Howard-Vyse J. Perring
in 1839: Senwosret III pyramid (MK).
E.g., Henri de Morgan excavation in
1894: intact tombs of princesses in
Senwosret III complex (Dyn.12).
• mid-1900s: A. Fakhry investigated
the pyramids of Sneferu.
• Area → a military zone & = closed
• 1990+ MMA excavated queen’s tomb
• 1996-present: German project is
surveying & excavating throughout
Dahshur, finding new pyramids, tombs,
etc. (including a Dyn.4 necropolis).
Dahshur pyramid of Amenemhat III

Middle Egypt: Fayoum sites, Lisht.
• Early surveys in the 1800s revealed
and explored the pyramids at el-Lisht
(Middle Kingdom, near capital It-towy).
• 1894-1895: French project.
• Late 1900s: MMA project, exploring
the pyramid complexes of Kings
Amenemhet I & Senwosret I, and the
elite mastaba tombs of some officials.
• The MMA also found some Dyn.13
housing near the pyramid of King
Amenemhet I.
• The ancient Dyns.12-13 capital of
It-Towy remains mostly unlocated
and unexcavated, but lay nearby
under one of the adjacent modern
towns (see recent 2010+ Parcak and
Mumford survey results).

Middle Egypt: Kahun pyramid town.
• The pyramid and neighbouring town
of Senwosret II at el-Lahun/Kahun
has been investigated variously:
E.g., Late 1890s by W. M. F. Petrie.
E.g., Late 1980s-1990s by the Royal
Ontario Museum (N. B. Millet et. al.).
• The town provided an invaluable
glimpse into a Middle Kingdom town,
yielding numerous papyri and valuable
data.
• The town did have some Dyn.18
re-occupation, whilst the surrounding
area also contained a cemetery for
the Middle Kingdom & New Kingdom
inhabitants of the town.
• Petrie’s work still remains pivotal,
but R. David, and other specialists, are
publishing more data on town & texts.

Middle Egypt: Tell el-Amarna.
• This site contains a capital city built
by Akhenaten in late Dyn.18, being
occupied only briefly before being
abandoned and partly dismantled.
• It has been investigated variously in
the 1800s-present, partly by Petrie
(late 1800s), a German mission
(early 1900s), and mostly by British
projects:
1921-1937 & 1977-present: EES
• The site has yielded quarries, tombs,
royal tombs, housing districts, temples,
communal structures, industrial areas,
palaces, a workmen’s village, and
cemeteries for the lower-middle
classes from the city.
• It represents Egypt’s best- and largest
excavated ancient urban context.
.

Upper Egypt: Hierakonpolis.
• This site has yielded significant
Predynastic-Early Dynastic remains,
including settlements, temples, and
cemeteries.
• 1899: early investigations took place
here directed by F. W. Green (well-
known discovery of “Painted Tomb”).
• 1967-present: Further investigations
at Hierakonpolis, uncovering …
(a). Predynastic town & outlying areas
houses (e.g., potter’s workshop).
(b). Predynastic-ED burials (early
mummification evidence).
(c). Some Predyn. Burials included
domesticated dogs & elephant.
(d). Ceramic masks for ritual use.
(e). Newly found temple/shrine area
(f). Some New Kingdom tombs.

Upper Egypt: Theban area temples.
Epigraphic survey / salvage work:
• The Theban area contains numerous
temples, including Karnak Temple,
Mut Temple, Montu Temple, Luxor
Temple, Medamud Temple, & many
mortuary temples on the West Bank.
• Many of these temple complexes
have multiple individual temple
structures within large enclosure walls,
whilst a network of paved processional
roadways & routes have also yielded
smaller adjacent shrines and
installations.
• Many investigations are occurring in
Luxor (Thebes), beginning with
general visits and drawings in the
early 1800s, progressing to clearance
and more detailed excavation and
recording in the mid-1800s and later.

Upper Egypt: Theban area temples.
Epigraphic survey / salvage work:
• The construction of the Aswan High
Dam, increased urbanization, and
rising ground water and salinity in
Luxor has begun to deteriorate the
foundation courses and lower wall
faces in various decorated temples:
E.g., Karnak & Luxor temples.
• Several institutions and projects have
initiated emergency salvage work:
E.g., IFAO (French mission) in Karnak
E.g., University of Memphis Hypostyle
Hall Project in Karnak Temple.
E.g., Oriental Institute of the University
of Chicago in Luxor Temple.
• Various schemes adopted:
E.g., May 2001 meeting in Luxor to
consider various options.

Upper Egypt: Theban area Nefertari.
• 1904: The tomb of Nefertari was
found in the Valley of the Queens,
having spectacular painted decoration.
• The tomb’s exposure & other causes
had sufficiently deteriorated it that it
was closed to most visitors in 1934.
• Despite several efforts to rescue the
tomb paintings, the situation worsened
until 1985, when the EAO obtained
the Getty Conservation Institute.
• The Getty initiated a study in 1986:
looking at the geological, biological,
and microclimatic situation in the tomb
• Culprit = sodium chloride within the
limestone walls & plaster. It took 5
years to remove the salts & restore it.
• Tomb now limited to 50 persons/year.
» More persons allowed now

Upper Egypt: Theban tomb KV.5.
• The Valley of the Kings had been
visited variously in the early 1800s,
with new tombs being located over the
next 100 years by Belzoni & others.
• James Burton noted the name of
Ramesses II on KV.5’s entry jamb.
• Howard Carter excavated part of the
entry area, but reburied KV.5 in 1922
(i.e., the tomb appeared damaged).
• 1987+: Kent Week’s Theban Mapping
Project (AUC) relocated KV.5 and
began investigating it.
• KV.5: damaged by flash floods and
leakage from sewer line for rest house
• However, careful excavation, etc., has
uncovered many surprises inside it: =
“Tomb of the children” of Ramesses II
(noted in Turin Papyrus): Bone frags.!

Western Desert: sites.
• Although various travelers had visited
the Western Desert oases & ancient
sites, Ahmed Fakhry initiated the first
comprehensive study of sites in 1937.
• later projects at selected oases/sites:
Dakhleh Oasis:
E.g., Dakhleh Oasis Project directed
by A. J. Mills & including multiple
specialists from various nations:
Canada, UK, Europe, Australia.
(Prehistory-Roman and later)
E.g., IFAO study of Ain Asil in Dakhleh
Old Kingdom town & cemetery.
E.g., Columbia University project in
Dakhleh Oasis (more recent).
• Finding first hut Neolithic hut circles in
Western Desert; pharaonic sites; etc.

Kharga Oasis:
E.g., IFAO study of Douch (Kharga)
a Late Period necropolis: i.e.,
assessing disease, health, diet,
Bahariya Oasis:
• E.g., 1996 discovery of a Ptolemaic-
Roman cemetery with 200 tombs
& prob. over 10,000 mummies.
(mainly 1st century AD).
• A guard’s donkey fell into a sunken
tomb, discovering “the Valley of the
Golden Mummies” (i.e., cartonnage
containers with gilding); EAO project.
• This yields a major opportunity to
analyze biomedical data on this time
period using very well-preserved
mummies in arid and undisturbed
conditions.

Farafra Oasis:
E.g., The University of Rome is
studying various sites in this
oasis, aiming to compare data
with the Prehistory-Predyn. of
the Western Desert & Nile Valley.
(1987 - present).
• i.e., Investigating the origins of
agriculture and technology in the
Western Desert & shift to Nile Valley
(from 6000 BC-Dynasty 1)
Siwa Oasis:
• Various projects have worked here,
examining Dyn.26-Roman and later
temples, tombs, and other remains.
• Includes interest in the “lost army” of
Cambyses, who dispatched an army to
Siwa in ca. 525/524 BC *(sand storm).

Eastern Desert: sites.
• Early Prehistoric rock art etc. surveys,
included:
E.g., 1907 A. Wiegall E. Desert survey.
E.g., 1936 H. Winkler E. Desert survey.
E.g., More recent survey re-examining
these earlier surveys and finding
new materials.
• Other projects at various sites:
E.g., IFAO work at Ain Sukhna (Castel)
E.g., UCLA work at Bernike (Wendrik)
E.g., Univ. Liverpool work at Emerald
mines (Ian Shaw).
E.g., Var. projects in Wadi Hammamat
E.g., Fattovich & Bard’s work at Wadi
Gawasis: MK caves & ships.
E.g., Many other sites & projects. New site: Wadi Jarf (OK papyri)

EARLY TO MODERN
INVESTIGATIONS
OF ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN
MUMMIES
This section is often dealt
with under the lecture on tombs

Scientific studies of mummies:
Background: mummies as medicine.
• Egyptian mummies represent an
invaluable resource in Egyptology:
a. Data on mort.-religion & practices
b. Data on disease, diet & health
• “Mummy” & “mummification” derive
from the Arabic term mumiyeh for
“pitch,” “bitumen,” “tar.”
• A “Mummy Mountain” in Persia yielded
liquid bitumen, which had become
equated with beneficial curative
properties → medicinal ingredient.
• After the demand for this curative
bitumen exceeded the capacity of its
original source, additional materials
were sought beginning in the Medieval
period, including the blackened frags.
from mummies in Egypt that were
believed to include bitumen.

mummies as medicine (continued).
• Although some Ancient Egyptian
mummies, and ritual items, had been
coated in bitumen, most mummies
lacked a bitumen coating.
• However, 1000s of Ancient Egyptian
mummies were sought and ground-up
as a substitute for bitumen in medicine.
• Hence, in Medieval and later periods,
Ancient Egyptian mummies came to be
called mumia (in Latin), and henceforth
“mummies.”
• Despite the estab. of laws in Egypt in
the 1700s, making it illegal to collect
mummies for medicinal purposes,
the European mummy trade continued
into the 1800s.

Background: unwrapping mummies.
• In the late 1700s–1800s, mummies
became popular for scientific through
public investigations in Europe & U.S.
• Many mummies would be unwrapped
for entertainment in private homes,
with the wrappings, bodies, & interior
amulets usually being lost to science.
• Some investigators made meticulous
records, publishing their findings:
e.g., A surgeon from London (UK)
Thomas J. Pettigrew (1791-1865)
• Belzoni befriended Pettigrew, inviting
him to three unwrappings.
• Belzoni also unwrapped one mummy
before an audience of doctors (in UK).
• Pettigrew unwrapped and studied
many of his own mummies, and others
for his friends and colleagues.

Unwrapping mummies (continued).
• Other mummy investigators:
a. Augustus B. Granville (1783-1872)
b. John Warren (1778-1856)
• The latter researcher held a post as a
professor of surgery and anatomy at
Harvard University.
• 1821: Warren unwrapped a Ptolemaic
period mummy.
• The Leeds Philosophical and Literary
Society gathered multiple specialists
to unwrap and study a mummy in 1825
• They published a detailed report on
their findings in 1828.

Discovery of royal mummies.
• The discovery of two royal mummy
caches in Thebes in the late 1800s
allowed further investigations into
Egypt’s past rulers & family members.
• The priests of Dyn.21 had rescued
the New Kingdom royal bodies from
continued plundering & destruction,
rewrapping many, and burying them
in hidden caches separate from their
original tombs, coffins & funerary
possessions.
• Unfortunately, during their mass-
processing of royal bodies, the priests
misidentified various bodies during
the re-labeling process (on dockets),
thereby casting doubt on the identity
of several bodies.
• The identity of other bodies = known.

Discovery of royal mummies (cont.).
• A cache of royal mummies = found
at Deir el-Bahri (DB 321) in 1871 by
el-Rasul family (from Qurna, Thebes).
• Dyn.21 priests had reused a partly
cut tomb intended for Queen Inha’pi.
• The National Antiquities Service
suspected a major illegal find once
royal antiquities began appearing on
the antiquities market: e.g., amulets.
• Extensive investigations in Thebes
and info. provided by a disgruntled
member of the er-Rasul family led the
police to the first cache. DB320
• Using a heavily armed force, the
remnants of the royal cache was able
to be transferred to the Cairo Museum.
• 1886: Maspero oversaw the study of
these mummies: e.g., Ramesses II.

Discovery of royal mummies (cont.).
• In 1891 another member of the el-
Rasul family revealed to the police the
location of a cache of 105 priestly
mummies and coffins that had been
plundered by the family over the span
of several years (North of D. el-Bahri).
• This cache dated to Dynasty 21 and
contained the bodies of priests and
their families.
• In 1898, archaeologists discovered
another cache of royal mummies in the
tomb of Amenhotep II (V. of the Kings).
• This cache dated to the New Kingdom
and contained various bodies of
kings, queens, princes, & princesses.

Background: royal mummy studies.
• NK royal mummies provided a limited
corpus of elite bodies to assess:
a. mummification techniques;
b. disease & health;
c. etc.
• Grafton Elliot Smith (1871-1937)
carried out the initial study:
a. He was an Australian physician.
b. Prof. of Anatomy at Cairo School of
Medicine.
c. 1912 publication of The Royal
Mummies (in Cat. Gen. series).
d. 1924 popular publication with W. D.
Dawson, Egyptian Mummies.

Royal mummy studies (continued).
• More recent studies on the royal
mummies in the Cairo Museum
include radiological surveys,clarifying:
a. Mummification techniques,
b. Age upon death;
c. Dental health;
d. Genealogical information.
• Reconstructions of facial features &
identifications of relationships between
individual mummies yielded problems:
a. Apparently Dyn.21 priests made
errors in labeling re-wrapped bodies
b. The only NK mummy found within
its original tomb = Tutankhamun.
• Tut studied in 1923: Dr. D. E. Derry
x-rayed in 1960s by Liverpool team
attempts to assess his blood group
more recent studies in last decade

• Enigmatic royal mummy from KV.55:
a. Initially identified as a female in 1907
b. Identified as “Queen Tiye” (wife of
Amenhotep III) in 1910 publication.
c. Elliot Smith later reidentified mummy
as young male around age of 25.
d. Skull was believed to be distorted,
suggesting hydrocephalus, and was
equated with Akhenaten (Amnhtp IV)
e. A later examination refuted the
occurrence of hydrocephalus and
noted historical sources indicated
Akhenaten lived until his early 30s.
f. More recently the body = suggested
as that of Smenkhkare (now = A.IV).
g. Liverpool study revealed young male
in early 20s, with blood group and
features similar to Tutankhamun. Now said = in early 30s → A. IV

• Studying mummy of Ramesses II:
a. 1976 examination of R.II’s body in
Paris whilst undergoing conservation
b. Applying non-destructive techniques
e.g., radiology.
c. Investigations focused upon looking
at his anatomy, teeth, associated
floral and faunal materials, and hair
samples: i.e., health, diet, disease …
d. Egyptian Antiquities Organization
(EAO) did not grant permission to
take bone and tissue samples →
Unable to apply histology,
serology,
DNA analysis.

• 1988+ study of KV5 (sons of R.II):
a. This tomb appears to have held the
bodies of some sons of Ramesses II.
b. Fragments of mummified human
remains from the tomb are promising
for comparative analysis with R.II etc.
• Ever evolving scientific techniques
promise an increasingly greater depth
and range of knowledge for extraction
from Ancient Egyptian mummies.
• Especially promising is the increasingly
smaller-microscopic samples needed,
and non-destructive techniques, that
will enable assessments of mummies
formerly not available for study.
• Decreasing costs also enable greater
quantities of mummies, and broader
ranges of social classes to be studied.

Contributions to Egyptology & medicine
• Human remains provide a source of
unbiased data to assess the health,
diet, family relationships, ethnicity, &
other aspects of persons from diverse
socio-economic backgrounds.
• In contrast, Egy. cultic-mortuary art
often portrays elite & specific people in
idealized formats for various reasons:
e.g., ensuring youth, health, beauty,
etc. in the afterlife.
• The remains from bone and tissues,
however, frequently reveal that the
elite had a wide range of ailments,
physical disabilities, & other problems.
• A major advantage in Egypt is the
widespread preservation of tissue,
which enables extensive analysis in
conjunction with a similar modern pop.
i.e., largely unchanged since the past.

Development of technology:
• Paleopathology, namely the study of
ancient diseases, has developed
greatly in more recent times (in
comparison to earlier mummy studies)
• Major changes include:
a. advances in available technology
for study,
b. multidisciplinary approach to studies
c. Mostly non-destructive techniques
• Non-destructive technology:
e.g., Endoscopes applied to mummies
• Many modern research projects
incorporate a focus on assessing
mummification techniques, often
confirming ancient written accounts
describing the mummification process
e.g., Herodotus.

Pioneering team investigations:
• 1901: E. Smith studied mummies from
southern Egypt: incl. bone data.
• Early 1900s: Smith, Dawson & Jones
studied about 6000 mummies during
the Archaeological Survey of Nubia
(prior to building of 1st dam at Aswan)
Manchester Museum study:
• 1908: Margaret Murray opened and
dissected two mummies from the
Tomb of the Two Brothers (from Rifeh),
housed in Manchester Museum.
• She initiated a new/mod. methodology:
a. Multidisciplinary team,
b. Detailed post-autopsy research,
c. Assessing funerary meal,
• She published a complete report in
1910.

Techniques: autopsies of mummies.
• Mummy researchers in the 1800s to
mid-1900s needed to apply more
destructive techniques to assess
ancient Egyptian mummies:
a. Unwrapping (destroying bandaging)
b. Dissection (cutting/removing tissue)
• 1970s: teams of specialists were able
to apply further analysis to bone and
tissue remains obtained via autopsy.
1973 Manchester Egy. Mummy Research Project
- Aiming at studying mummies to obtain
info. on disease, diet, environment,
funerary beliefs, etc.
• 1975 University of Manchester:
a. Studied mummy of 14-year old girl
b. 1st scientific study in UK since 1908
c. Items: prosthetic legs, phallus,
nipple amulets, finger & toe stalls …
d. Guinea worm infestation (amputation)

Autopsies of mummies (continued).
Other mummy studies in 1970s:
• University of Pennsylvania
Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology:
a. PUM I, II, III and IV mummy studies
PUM I 1972 autopsy
PUM II 1973 autopsy
PUM III-IV (cheaper mummification)
• Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto):
a. ROM I 1974 autopsy
• Despite the valuable results from such
mummy studies, Egyptian mummies
represent a finite resource for study.
• Hence, non-destructive means were
now required for any further studies:
• Radiographs (x-rays) had already
offered some aid, but could not replace
the information gained by autopsies:
• Endoscopes = virt. Non-destructive.

Techniques: Radiology introduction.
• A good non-destructive technique for
examining wrapped mummies/bodies:
• Radiology (x-rays) can reveal:
a. Mummification techniques via …
detecting usage of resin/natron;
removal of brain; etc.
b. Jewelry hidden under wrappings
c. Embalmer’s restoration, or repair
to body: e.g., false limbs, eyes, etc.
d. Embalmer’s augmentation of body:
e.g., adding padding under skin,
locks of hair, etc.
• Mummification techniques change
over time and are thereby dateable.
• May determine age, gender, health,
status (via wrappings, etc.)
• More extensive usage in 1970s+

Techniques: Radiology early usage.
• W. Konig took the earliest x-rays of a
mummified cat & child in 1896: Frnkft.
• T. Holland x-rayed a mummified bird in
1897.
• W. M. F. Petrie x-rayed mummies in
1898.
• Smith & Carter x-rayed the mummy of
Thutmose IV in 1904(found in Thebes)
• R. L. Moodie x-rayed a larger corpus
of Egyptian & Peruvian mummies-1934
• P. Hugh Ker Gray x-rayed about 200
mummies in European collections in
the 1960s.
• Harris & Weeks x-rayed royal Egyptian
mummies in late 1960s-1970s.
• Most mummies were x-rayed in various
locations: tombs, museums, etc.

Techniques: Radiology today.
• The Manchester Museum Egyptian
Mummy Research Project introduced
a new technique during the 1970s:
• i.e., Standardizing the context in which
x-rays = taken: hospital conditions.
• In mummy autopsies in N. America:
a. Preliminary x-rays indicated that
Nakht’s internal organs = left intact.
• b. 1976: computed tomography of
Nakht at Toronto General Hospital
i.e., = CAT-scan (→ 3-D image).
• CAT-scan = multiple radiographs (thin
sections of tissue) compiled into a
3-dimensional image: Nakht’s brain.
• Moving mummies to state-of-the-art
radiographic units enables the latest
technology to be applied: e.g., using
traverse body sections 5-13 mm thick.

Techniques: Radiology today (cont.).
• Radiology also enables assessing var.
disease in skeletal materials & tissue:
• It still has limitations regarding the
determination of age at death,
especially for adults (over 20 years):
• Attempts made to create radiological
standards for ossification in bones
have yielded variable results with
historically known mummies.

Techniques: Dental studies.
• Teeth are generally well-preserved in
both mummified & non-mummified
bodies in Egypt (and elsewhere).
• X-rays & direct examination of teeth
enable observations regarding both
normal and abnormal dentition: E.g.,
diet, health issues, environment, etc.
• An orthopantomograph unit allows a
full view of the teeth & jaw bones.
• However, radiology may be limited by
various obstructions: funerary mask,
hard tissue, etc.
• Many Egy. mummies = examined:
a. Old Kingdom elite from Giza
b. New Kingdom priests/elite (Thebes)
c. Royal mummies (Cairo Museum)

Techniques: Dental studies (cont.).
• Investigators assessing teeth for:
a. Age-determining techniques,
b. Diet (e.g., grit in bread; food types)
c. History of Anc. Egy. Dentistry, etc.
• Findings:
a. Pharaonic populace had less tooth
decay (i.e., caries)
b. Greco-Roman Egyptians had more
tooth decay (dietary changes)
c. Anc. Egyptians mostly suffered from
cusp attrition(worn biting surfaces)
• Analyses of ancient bread from tombs
reveals various inclusions in bread:
e.g., sand, quern frags., detritus from
storehouse (even in fine-sieved bread)
• Since bread formed the main staple in
Ancient Egypt, cusp attrition was
widespread (from the poor to elite).

Techniques: Dental studies (cont.).
Djed-maat-es-ankh mummy in ROM:
• 1994 CAT-scan of a female mummy.
• Scan revealed a huge cyst had formed
in her upper left jawbone.
• Apparently continuous wear upon her
teeth had exposed the tooth pulp, …
• This had become infected & became
a septic cyst → death.
• Despite Ancient Egyptian efforts to
treat dental problems, their knowledge
and remedies remained insufficient
to address such complications.
• Treatments ranged from magical
prescriptions to more ingenious and
practical approaches:
e.g., using dental bridges.

Techniques: Endoscopy.
• 1980s: Manchester Museum Mummy
Project applied another new & mostly
non-destructive technique for studying
Ancient Egyptian mummies:
• Endoscopy.
• This technique uses a very thin tube,
with a scope and light, that can be
inserted into small natural openings,
incisions, or breaks in the tissue.
• The scope is guided within the body
(e.g., abdomen) to obtain tissue
samples for diverse analyses …
a. Paleohistology (tissue study);
b. Immunological assessment;
c. DNA research.
• Such samples may be removed for
add. assessment under a microscope
without visible damage to the mummy.

Techniques: Endoscopy (cont.).
• Medical technology has improved
continuously, including endoscopes
with fiberscopes: a cluster of
transparent fibers transmitting light
in all directions and along curving
passages.
• Rigid endoscopes emerged, being
better suited for navigating passages
in the desiccated tissues of mummies.
• MMP placement of forceps at the end
of an endoscope enabled it to take
biopsy samples within mummies.
• Endoscopes transmit continuous
images of their route to a radiographic
screen: i.e., enabling visual guidance
to areas of interest during the
investigative procedure.

Techniques: Paleopathology.
• M. A. Ruffer (1859-1917) initiated the
study of disease in past peoples in the
early 1900s, terming it paleopathology.
• He served as a prof. of bacteriology in
the Cairo School of Medicine.
• Paleopathology:
a. Examines the origin, development
& disappearance of diseases;
b. Assesses the impact of various
diseases upon past populations.
• Pathology, which examines disease
processes, is subdivided into
a. Morbid anatomy:
i.e., visual assessment of bodies.
b. Histopathology:
i.e., (microscope) assessment of
changes in tissue via disease.
• Histology; electron microscopy; immunohistochemistry

Paleopathology: Paleohistology.
• Ruffer modified D.M.Fouquet’s 1889
paleohistological techniques for
detecting disease in ancient tissue.
• Ruffer initiated the rehydration and
fixing of ancient tissues to enable their
assessment like modern samples.
• The rehydrated tissues would be
solidified by paraffin wax or freezing.
• The sample could then be cut into a
thin section and mounted as a slide.
• The application of different dyes to
various parts of the tissue sections
enabled highlighting of particular areas
of importance for study.
• Such processes, and modifications,
have enabled the detection of many
diseases using a light enhanced
microscope.

Paleohistology (continued).
Findings in mummies:
• Detection of remnants of worms/eggs,
which caused various diseases:
• a. Round worm (Ascaris):
via a Trichinella infestation.
• b. Eggs from Taenia tapeworm:
• c. Filaria worms:
• d. Eggs and worms introducing
schistosomiasis (Bilharzia)
Various modified techniques:
• a. Electron microscopy (EM);
• b. Transmission electron microscopy
• c. Analytical electron microscopy AEM
• d. Scanning electron microscopy SEM;
• AEM has shown one man’s lung had
silica particles →sand pneumoconiosis
(common in regions with sandstorms).

Techniques: DNA studies’ potential.
Paleoserology:
• Prior to the 1970s’ refinement of DNA
investigations (by Svante Paabo),
researchers relied mostly on blood
group identifications for …
a. Suggesting familial links;
b. Tracing population movements;
c. Locating modern descendants of
past peoples.
→ i.e., = paleoserology (in 1930s+)
• These early techniques yielded some
success via …
a. serological micromethod (SMM)
b. inhibition agglutination test (IAT)

Paleoserology (continued):
• Ancient tissues held promise for
blood group identifications (A; B; O)
since blood is also found in …
a. muscle;
b. skin;
c. the brain.
• BUT, extracting samples proved tricky
as most tissues suffer contamination:
e.g., microorganisms;
e.g., embalming;
e.g., deterioration; etc.
• sometimes yielding → False positives.
• HOWEVER, a blood relationship was
demonstrated between Tutankhamun
and the body in KV.55 (either a brother
[Smenkhkare] or father [Akhenaten]).
• Paleoserology still has problems!

DNA analysis:
• Past DNA investigations have greatly
expanded in scope and potential since
the 1970s:
a. Delineating familial linkages;
b. Tracing origins of var. populations;
c. Delineating population migrations;
d. Assessing disease in past peoples;
• Now attempting to detect viral and
bacterial DNA in mummy tissue:
i.e., tracing past infectious diseases.
• Manchester Museum Mummy Project
detected the DNA of a schistosome
in 2002 (parasite causing Bilharzia).

DNA analysis:
• DNA analysis is theoretically (virtually)
non-destructive since every living cell
has each individual’s total genetic data.
• However, ancient samples frequently
yield various types of contamination.
• Fortunately, more recent techniques
have streamlined the process of
assessing samples:
i.e., polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
enables “gene amplification.”
• Hence, a greater quantity of ancient
mummies can be assessed more
quickly & cost-effectively regarding
DNA analysis.

Techniques: Epidemiological apprch.
DNA analysis:
• Research into ancient mummies had
focused upon detailed studies of
either individuals, or large groups,
into the early 1990s.
• Beginning in 1995, a collaborative
study initiated a new focus: i.e.,
assessing the nature of Bilharzia in
Egypt from 26th cent BC – 7th cent. AD
• The study also aims to compare past
data with Bilharzia in modern Egypt.
• The study involves:
a. Manchester Egyptian Mummy Proj.
b. Medical Service Corporation
International (MSCI), USA.
c. Egyptian Organization for Biological
Products and Vaccines (VACSERA)

Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia):
• Bilharzia is a serious disease affecting
around 300 million persons globally.
• A parasite, called a schistosome,
utilizes a water snail and a human as
hosts during its life cycle in tropical
and subtropical climates.
• Despite effective treatments today,
the environment within which many
people contract Bilharzia remains
the same: often still, stagnant water.
• Today, 20% to 85% of the population
of Egypt through to small villages are
variously affected by Bilharzia.
• Recent studies are turning to the past,
aiming to assess the development of
Bilharzia in pharaonic-Roman Egypt.

Anc. Schistosomiasis (Bilharzia):
• The ancient Egyptians realized that
diseases occurred amongst people,
but it remains uncertain whether they
isolated Bilharzia from other diseases.
• Egyptian medical papyri mention
“worms,” including one ailment called
the aaa-disease.
• Ancient physicians noted it had:
Blood in urine (hematuria)
i.e., known for one variant of Bilharzia
(Schistosome haematobium).
• However, other parasitic infections
also yield similar symptoms.
• In order to identify this specific
parasite, Theodor Bilharz needed a
microscope in 1852 (=invisible to eye).

• Ruffer detected Bilharzia in 1910:
i.e., two mummies ca. 1100 BC.
• Bilharzia = found in other periods.
• Detected by various means:
a. X-ray studies (liver, kidneys, and
bladder calcifications).
b. Microscope studies of rehydrated
tissues from mummies.
c. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent
assay (ELISA) assessing bone/tissue
for material from the parasite’s gut.
• The Manchester Egyptian Mummy
Project added two new techniques:
a. International tissue bank;
b. A new investigative implement.

International Egy. Mummy Tissue Bank:
• Aimed at maximizing the collection &
study of Egyptian mummy tissue
samples from across the globe
i.e., 8,000+ institutions.
• The samples to-date span many
periods and social classes.
• Although this project focuses on
Bilharzia, the tissue bank is available
for other studies: diseases, etc.
• Hence, the Manchester Museum
has become one of the main places
for Ancient Egyptian mummy studies.

Immunocytochemistry:
• Since ancient tissue seldom retains
the different antibodies formed within
a body to combat different diseases,
another technique was required to
track Bilharzia in Anc. Egy. Mummies:
• Manchester Egyptian Mummy Project
selected immunocytochemestry as the
best cost-efficient option by which to
study a large number of samples from
the growing Egy. Mummy tissue bank.
• Immunocytochemestry is able to
isolate any remnants of antigens from
either the egg or schistosome worm
that had introduced Bilharzia to the
past human host.

Immunocytochemistry:
• A specific antiserum was created to
detect the schistosome parasite.
• It has antibodies that will attach
themselves to the antigens (epitopes)
of either a living or dead schistosome:
i.e., tracing its current-past presence.
• Staining tissue samples incorporated
molecular detectors for the specific,
desired antibody:
• Hence, the Manchester Mummy Proj.
detected S. mansoni & haematobium
in a modern mouse, recent tissue,
and an ancient mummy sample.
• The technique also works in tracing
different diseases in ancient tissue.
• Can now study pathogen development and
seek potential counter-measures to Bilharzia.

Techniques: Animal mummies.
• Increasingly studies are being done
on ancient Egyptian animal mummies.
Late Period to Greco-Roman era:
• Many Ancient Egyptians deities had
one or more animal manifestations,
which later became incorporated in
diverse animal cults with the sacred
animals being killed & mummified as
pious offerings to temples by pilgrims.
• The animals themselves were NOT
considered to be deities, but simply
had a more direct association with a
particular deity and hence some value
as a pious mummification offering for
the given deity it represented.
• Of note, some animal cults appear
earlier, such as the NK+ Apis Bull cult
(a manifestation of Ptah of Memphis).

LP-Roman sacred animal mummies:
• Increasing public piety in the Late Per.
witnessed the growth of complexes
to house various sacred animals.
• The temple generated further income
by accepting local-pilgrim payments
for the killing and mummification of an
animal manifestation of a given deity.
• The mummified body would be placed
in a catacomb, some of which grew to
house 1000s to even millions of
sacred animal mummy gifts.
• The Saqqara catacombs have yielded:
dogs, cats, baboons, rams, ibises,
monkeys, bulls, and cows.
• A few animals had extra special status
including the Apis Bull, which was kept
separately in the temple at Memphis.

LP-Roman sacred animal mummies:
• X-rays and other investigations of
animal cult mummies have revealed
further information:
• Cats raised in temples usually were
killed by having their neck broken.
• Some animal mummy cases reveal
carefully wrapped refuse, another
animal form, or diverse body parts,
indicating that the priests had either
cheated the pilgrim of his donation
(textual support for this), OR provided a
less expensive form of offering.
• There is sometimes evidence that
some cult animals were poorly treated
during their lifetimes, receiving
injuries, being malnourished, etc.
• Hence, much data is obtainable here.

Apis Bull mummies:
• Apis Bull = an earthly manifestation
of the god Ptah, patron of Memphis &
craftsmen, but had a special status
(versus most other animal cults).
• It is mentioned throughout pharaonic
times, and appears with its own burial
complex in the New Kingdom & later.
• Each Apis Bull was selected, upon the
death of its predecessor, based on
various characteristic markings.
• It was kept in a pampered state within
the temple, had a harem of cows, and
its mother received special treatment.
• It was mummified using an elaborate
technique and buried in a massive
stone sarcophagus in a subterranean
complex (the Serapeum at Saqqara).

Household animal mummies (pets):
• Other animals have been mummified
as beloved pets, with a desire for them
to accompany their owners into the
afterlife:
• E.g., Cats
• E.g., Dogs
• E.g., Monkeys
• E.g., Gazelles
• E.g., Horses (in Nubia especially)
• Such costly burials often reflect an
elite practice, but less costly simple
interments are known.
• Some animals receive full elite burial
rites (mummification, canopic jars,
a sarcophagus, etc.), in the owner’s
burial, & sometimes in separate tombs.
• E.g., late Prehistory-Roman period.

Techniques: other studies & materials.
• Ancient Egyptian mummies have
provided answers to other questions
about Ancient Egypt:
- Mummification materials & techniques
- The use of narcotics in Anc. Egypt
e.g., opiates, cocaine (unlikely!)
- Diet
- Medicine
- Etc.

Mummification:
• Studying the bodies from different
periods and contexts from Anc. Egypt
has yielded much data on the nature
and differences in mummification by …
a. Age and gender
b. Rank and status
c. Region and time period
• The embalmers used linen of varying
quality in wrapping persons of differing
rank & status.
• Various substances were also added
to the linen bandages:
resin, galbanum, and beeswax.
• Other products incorporated into the
mummification include tree resin and
frankincense (imported from Punt,
along the African coast / SW Arabia).

Narcotics in Ancient Egypt: cocaine.
• 1992: An investigative team studying
mummies in Munich reported finding:
a. cocaine; b. hashish; nicotine.
• The Munich mummies dated as early
as 1000 BC.
• They collected samples from head hair,
head and abdomen skin and muscle,
and from bone in the skull.
• The samples were processed using
a. radioimmunoassay, and
b. gas chronomatography-mass
spectrometry (GCMS).
• However, neither nicotine or cocaine
were known in Egypt / Old World:
a.Long-distance trade with Americas?
(Manchester study → negative).
b.Later contamination of mummies?

Narcotics in Ancient Egypt: opium.
• Manchester Egy. Mummy Project also
reassessed theories for opium being
imported into New Kingdom Egypt
via Cypriot poppy-form jars. 1450 BC.
• 8 of 13 Cypriot jugs in Manchester had
residual contents with dried materials,
whilst 5 large frags.bore residue traces.
• Liquid chromatography (HPLC) & other
analyses of all the residue failed to
detect either morphine or other opium
alkaloids.
• These 13 vessels may represent an
insufficient sample: i.e., opium may
still be found elsewhere (neg-evidence)
• OR: opium was not exported in such
containers.
• Other options?

Anth.446 Ppt. Lecture-2 Egyptology And Ancient Egypt (By G. Mumford) UPDATED Dec. 2021.

Anth.446 Ppt. Lecture-2 Egyptology And Ancient Egypt (By G. Mumford) UPDATED Dec. 2021.

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Anth.446 Ppt. Lecture-2 Egyptology And Ancient Egypt (By G. Mumford) UPDATED Dec. 2021.